Q&A: Broward black political leaders discuss use of the N-word

Anthony Man / Sun Sentinel

Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Bobby DuBose, left, and Lauderdale Lakes City Commissioner Levoyd Williams discuss Wilton Manors City Commissioner Ted Galatis's use of the N-word. Their discussion took place during an interview with the Sun Sentinel editorial board on July 22, 2014. Photo by Anthony Man

Fort Lauderdale City Commissioner Bobby DuBose, left, and Lauderdale Lakes City Commissioner Levoyd Williams discuss Wilton Manors City Commissioner Ted Galatis's use of the N-word. Their discussion took place during an interview with the Sun Sentinel editorial board on July 22, 2014. Photo by Anthony Man (Anthony Man / Sun Sentinel)

Anthony ManSun Sentinel

Two of Broward’s leading African-American politicians of different generations – Bobby DuBose, 43, and Levoyd Williams, 67 – had a sometimes spirited discussion over the use of the N-word this week.

DuBose, a Fort Lauderdale city commissioner, and Williams, a Lauderdale Lakes city commissioner, were interviewed jointly by Sun Sentinel reporters and editorial writers because both men are running for state representative.

The district they hope to represent includes Wilton Manors, where one of that city’s commissioners, Ted Galatis, admitted hurling the N-word during a road rage incident last month.

Here are extended excerpts from the discussion with DuBose and Williams.

Question: You both want to represent Wilton Manors [which is] part of your district. Commissioner Galatis recently had an incident where he acknowledged that in a road rage incident he used the n-word. Do you think that automatically disqualifies him from being re-elected?

Williams: That’s up to the people. I can’t sit here and tell you that I haven’t said things that shouldn’t have been said in the heat of battle. That doesn’t make me a bad person. But it’s up to the people to say was that strong enough to make sure that he doesn’t get re-elected? Now did he apologize? He needs to apologize. I think that’s the first step, to start there. I tell people, I don’t know if you remember George Wallace. Tuskegee Institute gave him an award. As bad as George Wallace was. And yet he did some good things. And so Tuskegee Institute said we’re going to give him an award.

[George Wallace was the segregationist governor of Alabama who later professed a change in beliefs and was awarded an honorary degree by the Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, a historically black college located in Alabama.]

Now a lot of people were upset about that … but when I started learning why they did what they did, you can’t always just hold grudges. Because when you hold grudges like that guess what? It only hurts you. And we’ve got to find a way to work past that. We are one people and one nation and if we can begin to understand and bridge our differences and talk about our differences, because things don’t change by holding them in. And see I’m willing to take that risk to talk about our differences so that we can make change and the next time they come around it won’t be such a big reaction.

DuBose: I agree with the first part of the statement. The people out there [have] an opportunity to speak on that particular issue. I think it’s unacceptable. Apologize at a minimum. But there needs to be more there. Words are just that. Did you really mean them? Is it something that maybe he needs to go to some sensitivity training or something? Or maybe there’s more to it. But the great thing about this process is that the residents, the people will be able to speak, and I think they’re the ones that will be the deciding factor whether or not he stays or he goes.

Question: Would you vote for someone who used the n word in a traffic altercation in 2014 as he did?

DuBose: Would I vote for someone who used the n word? Um [five-second pause] it depends. And the reason why I say it depends is I have learned in this process to make sure that I know all the details and not just a snippet of that. But that word in itself is unacceptable. I would definitely look into it, but that word is unacceptable.

Williams: And let me go even further than that.

Question: Would you vote for someone who used that word in 2014 in a traffic altercation?

Williams: First I’d have to find who his opponent is. Let me tell you what’s happening here: I agree that that’s a despicable word. But the difference is African-Americans use it and we don’t say anything. We need to be just as vigilant when a white person says it as when an African-American says it. It’s a bad word. So could I vote for him? I probably would say no. If I really had to come down to it I probably would say no unless his record otherwise showed that it was in the heat of battle, and why he said it I don’t know. But it would be tough, but I have African-Americans using that same word and nobody says a word.

Question: Why is that?

Williams: Why is that? I think that they, it was used initially to cut the hurt. So you said it yourself so that it didn’t seem so painful if somebody else said it. But we’re in 2014. We’ve got to eradicate that negative things. We’ve got to stop the name calling. All over. Not just that. It’s so many other things. Now, this young man who did it, he why did he do it? Like my opponent says here, Bobby said, we’ve got to find out why he said it.

Question: Does it matter why?

DuBose: It doesn’t matter why he said it. I think the important part is to me is it’s more comprehensive. You said, would I vote for this person [who] used that word? Would I vote for him? I’m saying that a person who uses that word, is it something they regularly use? Did they apologize? I think there needs to be some sensitivity training to all that. So my initial instinct would be to say I couldn’t support a person who could just easily fly and use a word like that. But I don’t know everything else that was behind it. But knowing that how sensitive that word is, and granted people use other words Levoyd is saying that African-Americans use the word, but it’s not used in the same context.

Williams: Yes it is.

DuBose: In the sense that it’s not used where they’re saying it to be malicious and to hurt one another. And that’s where the difference lines up. Because it’s a bad word. People have used it and especially young people.

Williams: But I’m telling you when you see African-Americans use the word when they get mad and get ready to fight. What do they say? And they say it and the understand it

DuBose: But what about when they say it when they’re not mad?

Williams: Psychologically I’m telling you a negative word, it’s always negative even when you use it positively your subconsciousness makes it negative. And you’re always putting yourself down. If you begin to eradicate that word.

DuBose: I don’t disagree that you shouldn’t use the word that you should eradicate the word. But let’s just understand. When you look at this in a more comprehensive manner and you start looking at the African-American community around this word. Every time someone uses it toward another black person it’s not always with malice.

Question: Has either of you ever used it in a non malicious term talking to other African-Americans?

Williams: In the last 40 years I’ve never used it. Now I can't say before that because I did. But in the last 40 years I have never used that.

Question: When you were young?

Williams: Once I began to read and understand it as a negative word no matter when you use it, I never used it, and will correct any young people who use it. I’m committed to make sure you eliminate that word because when I see other people I commit to it.

DuBose: Regarding using the word, I don’t use the word. I know it’s negative. It’s always been negative. I remember we were in Detroit and the NAACP formally buried the word. It is a word that probably more in my generation it was used in rap songs and so in singing songs and kids just used it. It was the generation that came up with it was in some ways introduced to it through music as opposed to an older generation where when it was used sometimes the end result could have been difference between life and death. So that’s why I’d say it's not always something with malice.